


tiny roars

by jaemarked



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Hybrids, M/M, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23473534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaemarked/pseuds/jaemarked
Summary: Aggressive. Hostile. Violent. Feral.That was what was written on the report that had been given to Jaehyun two years ago. At that time, the VHRT had been a tiny non-profit organization run by his parents. Now, the Volunteer Hybrid Rescue Team has expanded to sixteen different countries, and they’ve had over two thousand volunteers sign on since Jaehyun took over as head of the organization.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Mark Lee
Comments: 19
Kudos: 404
Collections: My kpop favourites





	tiny roars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mythological](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythological/gifts).



> mark lee posted a selfie on bubble and i got very emotional.
> 
> this was the result.

_Aggressive. Hostile. Violent. Feral._

That was what was written on the report that had been given to Jaehyun two years ago. At that time, the VHRT had been a tiny non-profit organization run by his parents. Now, the Volunteer Hybrid Rescue Team has expanded to sixteen different countries, and they’ve had over two thousand volunteers sign on since Jaehyun took over as head of the organization.

At twenty-three years old, having worked in the VHRT ever since he was a child, he thought he had seen it all. Until one day he received a call about a male lion hybrid that was found in the dumpster behind a family-owned restaurant in LA that had apparently attacked two separate police officers before being sedated.

Of course, Jaehyun dropped everything to get on a plane. Lion hybrids were rare. So rare, in fact, that nobody had ever heard of one until that day. Jaehyun had gone straight from the airport to the animal hospital they were keeping the hybrid, only to find him bound to his hospital bed.

“Take those restraints off!” Jaehyun had barked immediately.

“Sir, the sedatives have worn off, we can’t administer another shot until four hours from now. We thought they would last longer, but they seem to have no effect—“

“He’s terrified,” Jaehyun had interrupted the nurse, looking at the lion hybrid who was panting heavily, drool dripping from his fangs and ears pressed flat against his skull. He had been expecting a sort of mane when they mentioned he was male, but there were just small, rounded ears atop his head in a mess of black curls. The lion hybrid snarled when he approached, and jerked his head back. Jaehyun gasped at the fractal patterned scars on his neck, left behind by none other than a shock collar. “Oh, poor _baby._ ”

Suddenly, the lion hybrid stopped snarling, his ears perking up as he eyed Jaehyun warily. He was rather cute with large eyes and a small button nose. His fangs poked out from below his upper lip as he regarded Jaehyun who slowly approached the bed. He hadn’t been scared, that day, too worried about the hybrid who had obviously been through hell and back. 

“Hi, pretty baby,” Jaehyun cooed, watching as the hybrid’s eyes went wide. _Oh? So he likes being called ‘baby’?_ “My name’s Jaehyun, I’m a hybrid rescuer. Those restraints are pretty uncomfortable, right? Want me to take them off?”

The lion hybrid stared for a moment in disbelief, but remained silent. Unperturbed, Jaehyun continued, stepping closer to the bed.

“The thing is, I can’t take these off in case you hurt someone. I know you’re scared, but I promise we’re just here to help. We just want to make sure you’re healthy, and then we’ll work on making you happy. So you have to promise not to attack anyone, and I promise I’ll take these off.”

There was no response.

He turned to the nurse. “Do you know if he understands English?”

The nurse shook her head. “He hasn’t said a word since he woke up--”

“My claws.”

Jaehyun turned back to the hybrid in shock. The hybrid sounded painfully young despite the fact that his voice was raspy from disuse. His eyes traveled to the hybrid’s hands at his sides on top of the blanket, and each finger was carefully taped up.

“Oh fuck,” Jaehyun gasped, horrified. Someone had fucking _declawed_ him. “Oh my god.”

“Hurts,” the hybrid whimpered, and fat tears began rolling down his cheeks. Jaehyun immediately scrambled over, forgetting about the dangers of a potentially feral hybrid. The nurse followed, hiding behind him as she pressed the button that Jaehyun assumed was for more pain relief medication. “Can you… take off?”

“The restraints?” The hybrid nodded. “I can, but you have to promise you won’t hurt anyone.”

“I promise.” Jaehyun reached over and gently undid the buckles of the restraints. The hybrid’s skin was red underneath it, and he made a mental note to ask for some cream to soothe the irritation.

“Do you have a name?”

The lion hybrid’s eyes were shut now, either because he was feeling relaxed without the restraints or because the pain medication had kicked in. After a few minutes of waiting, Jaehyun felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Not wanting to wake the hybrid up, he made to leave the room.

“Mark.”

Jaehyun paused in the doorway, turning around. The hybrid’s eyes were focused on him, laser-sharp gaze piercing through Jaehyun’s skin.

“My name is Mark.”

“Aggressive, they said,” Jaehyun mutters. “An aggressive pain in my ass, maybe.”

When Jaehyun had gotten home, the living room was a mess. The cushions of the couch were missing, along with the throw blankets and pillows he usually kept for maximum comfort while watching movies. 

He sighs, wandering through the apartment looking for his little lion hybrid, and throws open his bedroom door only to find Mark buried under a mountain of pillows, clothing, and blankets. All of them, of course, belong to Jaehyun.

Mark is curled up under a blanket, his face buried in a scrunched up hoodie and Jaehyun’s pillow in his arms. His tail is the only limb that pokes out from under the blanket, curling and uncurling in his sleep. Jaehyun smiles despite himself, fond. He can’t believe that this is the same hybrid he had gone to court several times for in order to prove that Mark wasn’t aggressive.

Mark never likes to talk about what happened to him, how he ended up in that dumpster, but Jaehyun has an idea. Mark, a lion hybrid stolen from a Canadian lab that had long since shut down when he was just a little cub. He had been sold several times to owners that had mistreated him until he finally managed to escape. Jaehyun’s dad, although retired, had launched a full investigation, and had been able to recover Mark’s original paperwork. Mark Lee, born 1999, is a twenty one year old male lion hybrid that now belongs to Jaehyun Jung, head of the Volunteer Hybrid Rescue Team.

The hybrid in question snuffles, nosing deeper into the fabric of the hoodie. He lets out a tiny sneeze, scrunching up his nose and shaking his head rapidly like a wet dog. His ears, still too oversized for his head, perk up when Jaehyun laughs at the sight, and Mark sits up immediately, sleepy but alert.

“Jaehyun!” Mark cries, and that’s the only warning Jaehyun gets before a five-foot-nine hybrid is launching himself into his arms. He stumbles backwards, but manages to keep them upright as Mark noses into his neck and rubs their cheeks together. Laughing, he lets Mark scent him. He had only been gone for two days, and Yuta, a panther hybrid and longtime friend, had spent most of that time with Mark so he wasn’t left alone for too long while Jaehyun was gone. Yet still, Mark got insatiably clingy when Jaehyun returned home, so he indulges the hybrid.

“Did you build a den, baby?”

The hybrid shivers at the pet name as he always did, looking back at the monstrosity on Jaehyun’s bed with flushed cheeks, nodding sheepishly. 

“I missed you,” Mark says quietly, Jaehyun reaches up and tweaks one of Mark’s ears before looping his arms around Mark’s back and pulling him in close. 

“I missed you too, baby,” Jaehyun replies, burying his nose in Mark’s hair. Lions don’t purr, but Jaehyun imagines that if he could, Mark would be purring right now as he snuggled in close, his hands fisted in the back of Jaehyun’s jacket.

“Nap?” Mark asks, pulling back.

Jaehyun’s stomach rumbles; he hasn’t eaten in nine hours. Yet he takes one look at Mark’s eyes, sparkling with hope, and agrees. Mark immediately seizes his wrist, dragging him over to the bed and shoving him down into the mass of pillows and blankets. Jaehyun doesn’t even get a chance to blink before Mark is diving on top of him, burying his face in the crook of Jaehyun’s neck, tail wrapping around his thigh.

Jaehyun sighs. He’s exhausted, starving, and hasn’t showered yet. He knows that when he wakes up he’ll have to wash all of the clothes Mark had pulled out and then reassemble the living room. But Mark is warm and happy in his arms, his incisors gently digging into the flesh of Jaehyun’s shoulder and…

He really fucking missed his hybrid.

So he kisses the top of Mark’s head, closes his eyes, and falls asleep in the lion’s den.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are very much appreciated!! thanks for reading this fic  
> 
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/jaemarkism)  
> [curious cat](https://curiouscat.me/jaemarked)


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